How to buy (and renovate) your dream Italian home for less than €100,000

“Homes for a euro” was a slick marketing campaign that dangled the irresistible idea that we might buy our own little Italian renovation project for less than the price of an espresso.

Prime-time TV shows followed. We drooled over Amanda Holden and Alan Carr’s restoration of two apartments in the medieval Sicilian town of Salemi in the BBC’s The Italian Job, or Sopranos actress Lorraine Bracco’s project in Sambuca in My Big Italian Adventure.

But while the one euro campaign has grabbed the headlines, many buyers end up spending a bit more than that on their Italian bargain. 

“It’s a great slogan for sure, but in every village, as well as €1 houses, there are homes at a higher price with lower renovation costs,” says Maurizio Berti, who runs property advice website Case a 1 Euro. 

“We have had buyers that might spend less than €10,000 (£8,660) on a property and the restoration needed costs less than the €90,000 that is typically spent by a €1 buyer.”

His company will help plan itineraries for visiting the villages, organise meetings with local mayors and project managers – things that foreign buyers who don’t speak fluent Italian may struggle with. 

The €1 homes are typically sold by local municipalities – not estate agents – with the bureaucracy that comes with dealing with a public body, in a different language. 

You must renovate within two to four years and pay a “guarantee fee” of €2,000 to €5,000 at the outset (conditions vary by locality).

Shirley Engelmeier, 70, a business owner from Minneapolis in America, became fascinated by the €1 homes concept in 2019. 

Following a couple of visits to Sambuca, Sicily – one of the most well-known villages in the scheme along with Salemi, Mussomeli and Gangi – she became enthralled by the “beautiful, sweet culture” of the Sicilians and became determined to buy a home there.

She says: “There was a waiting list for the €1 homes – and some even go to auction – and I realised that I wouldn’t be able to be on the island enough to supervise the renovation.

“Then I had a moment of clarity when an estate agent said to me ‘you are in an ancient village so do you also need an ancient house?’ I decided I didn’t.”

She and her husband Steve bought a three-bedroom four-storey townhouse built in 1975 for €45,000 last year. Cosmetic repairs and new heating cost another €12,000. 

“It’s great, the locals have welcomed us and we have danced at their parties,” she says.

“I still know other Americans in our €1 Whatsapp group waiting for a property. We’re visiting twice a year whilst we are both still working.”

She’s far from alone in shopping for a cheap property in Italy, though many buyers are prepared to pay a little more than €1.

In the first five months of 2023, the interest in properties for sale in Italy up to €100,000 has grown by around 30pc compared to the same period in 2022, according to Gate-away.com, the biggest dedicated Italian property portal. 

Interest fell for all other price ranges.

British property hunters on the site accounted for over half of the sub-€100k searches, and searches for properties in need of renovation increased most dramatically amongst British people, the Gate-away said.

Sicily remains a popular location since it featured in the second series of HBO’s White Lotus last year – British enquiries are up 61pc in a year – and its well-preserved ancient temples and photogenic headlands feature in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny released in cinemas last month.

If, like Shirley, you also can’t wait for a €1 home to come up, then you can find projects for four figure-sums through estate agents. 

But choose the location and then the property: accessibility is key if you are a holiday home owner flying in for a long weekend.

The whole purpose of the €1 campaign is to help re-populate often remote rural villages, which might not suit your needs. “Some towns are also more ready for outsiders than others,” Shirley adds.

“In over a decade of experience, people first fall in love with the village and then begin the search for a house,” says Mr Berti. Check out a map of villages in the scheme, and then plan your visit.

Some people buy without visiting if they know the village or are given the right advice. 

Valerio Gruessner of agent Property in Sicily tells of two current renovations being undertaken by Americans who bought “sight unseen” in Pollina and Gratteri on the northern coast of Sicily – both charming hilltop villages that are around 20 minutes from the coast, and the popular resort of Cefalu.

“Buyers might buy a property for less than €20,000 and then spend around €70,000 on renovating – renovation is around €1,000 per sq m,” he says.  

Mr Gruessner is selling a three-bedroom house in Pollina for €7,000 (see below) – or one that is ready to move into for €50,000.

Buyers will need to add in around €5,000 to cover estate agent fees, notary fees and purchase taxes, and the process from purchase to full restoration might take 12 to 18 months – up to four months to organise the renovation and planning permission, the rest to build.

He points to the low tax schemes that are also attracting foreign buyers to Italy: in eight areas with towns of fewer than 20,000 residents, new inhabitants can pay a 7pc tax on their pensions; or for workers who move their tax residence to southern Italy there’s the tax-free allowance of the “inpatriate tax regime” that can apply on up to 90pc of your income (for a limited time). 

There’s also the Italian €100,000 “flat tax” regime for very high earners. But note that these are all tax regimes, not substitutes for visas.

There are many Americans moving to Italy on the “elective residence visa”. 

Designed for financially self-sufficient retirees, it requires an income of €38,000 per year for a couple. American buyers have taken over as the biggest market for Dave Benton of ahomeinitaly.com, a property consultant to overseas buyers in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. 

“The 90/10 ratio of British buyers to Americans here has been completely reversed.”

It’s still a popular area for bargain-hunting Britons looking for a holiday home. €100,000 can go a long way, there are many towns with fewer than 20,000 residents in the Abruzzo, and buyers can enjoy easy access to the Adriatic coast and the mountains.

Historic villages in the green hills of the Valle Peligna near good transport links – such as a railway line to Rome – are favoured, especially Pacentro, Raiano and Vittorito, says Mr Benton. 

“You can easily find a fixer-upper for €20,000 or something that’s habitable for €50,000.” He says that once renovated, these village houses might rent on AirBnb for €70 to €100 a night.

After an unsuccessful plan to move to France in 2016, Ruth and Nick from Somerset are in the process of buying a two-bedroom house in Vittorito for €60,000. 

The retirees, both 62, are going to use it as a holiday home, before perhaps a full-time move. 

“We didn’t even know where the Abruzzo is, but we drove over last year and thought how beautifully undiscovered it was and not too touristy,” says Ruth.

“I think the fact it’s not the easiest place to get to [the airport Pescara has limited flights] is reflected in the prices. The house we are buying is completely liveable although it’s been empty for two years.”

Other regions worth looking at for affordable homes are Le Marche, Puglia, Calabria and Campania but it’s possible to find bargains anywhere if you look hard enough.